BMW X3 Owners Manual: Data memory

Many electronic components on your vehicle are equipped with data memories that temporarily or permanently store technical information about the condition of the vehicle, events and faults. This technical information generally records the state of a component, a module, a system or the environment:

• Operating mode of system components, fill levels for instance.
• Status messages for the vehicle and from its individual components, e.g., wheel rotation speed/vehicle speed, deceleration, transverse acceleration.
• Malfunctions and faults in important system components, e.g., lights and brakes.
• Responses by the vehicle to special situations such as airbag deployment or engaging the stability control system.
• Ambient conditions, such as temperature.

This data is purely technical in nature and is used to detect and correct faults and to optimize vehicle functions. Motion profiles over routes traveled cannot be created from this data. When service offerings are used, e.g., repair services, service processes, warranty claims, quality assurance, this technical information can be read out from the event and fault memories by the service personnel, including the manufacturer, using special diagnostic tools. You can obtain further information there if you need it. After an error is corrected, the information in the fault memory is deleted or overwritten on a continuous basis.

With the vehicle in use there are situations where you can associate these technical data with individuals if combined with other information, e.g., an accident report, damage to the vehicle, eye witness accounts - possibly with the assistance of an expert.

Additional functions that are contractually agreed with the customer - such as vehicle emergency locating - you can transmit certain vehicle data from the vehicle.